Multi-organ failure (MOF) is the rapid and often sequential degeneration of function of at least two organs in a patient that, most often, results in the death of 4 out of 5 patients who suffer from it. MOF can result from trauma, infection or disease initially associated with one organ (e.g., acute renal failure, respiratory infection, pancreatitis, and the like) or from conditions that present systemically (e.g., sepsis, major burns, sickle cell anemia, premature birth, excessive blood loss, chemotherapy and the like). Contributory factors of MOF include hypoxia, increased intestinal permeability, bacterial translocation, endotoxaemia, infection and uncontrolled systemic inflammatory responses.
Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein hormone critical to the enhanced survival (anti-apoptotic action), proliferation (mitogenesis) and differentiation of bone marrow erythroid progenitor cells. In this way erythropoietin controls the number of red blood cells in the circulation and hence the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. The peripheral red cell count is kept constant by a controlled feedback mechanism involving oxygen supply, erythropoietin secretion and erythropoiesis. However, the system can become unbalanced in an individual suffering from MOF.
Due to the high fatality rate associated with MOF, a novel strategy is greatly needed to prevent the onset of MOF in a patient at risk of developing it, as well as a method of treating those patients who have already have it.